Pretty Little Thing Called Love
by amusingbutconfusing
Summary: This is going to be a series of Emison one shots so expect everything. Angst. Fluff. Smut. Everything haha. Please follow and fave if you wish :)! Rated T but there will be M rated chapters.
1. Working On A Dream

_I wanted to write something fluffy since the show is all doom and gloom with Emison right now. So, I came up with this little idea. I think this will be the first chapter in my one shots so follow and fave if you like and leave me a review if you wish :). It's all very appreciated! And if you have any prompts you'd like me to have a look at then please leave me them :)!  
_

* * *

Alison was annoyed. She was in good shape, well decent shape anyway, and yet the waves of tall grass made walking feel like treading on water. It didn't help that Emily was in front of her and all the blonde could think about was the brunette. The way her hips swayed through the grass and how her longer legs made light work of the terrain. The way her arms swung freely at her side.

As if reading her mind, Emily slowed her pace for Alison to catch up with her.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked warmly.

Alison didn't know if she was serious or whether Emily was innocently winding her up. "Never better, Em, never better." A few paces more and they had reached the fence they had to cross.

Alison watched closely at how Emily zigzagged her body between the wires on the fence without catching a single barb. Then Emily straightened, pulled her gear back over her shoulder and her hands grasped between the barbs, one on each strand of the middle two, creating a space for Alison to get through.

"You can come through now," she told Alison easily. Spencer, Aria and Hanna were now a few steps a head of them heading towards their final destination.

Alison mimicked Emily's moves and crouched through the fence, holding her breath and then wincing when she felt a razor sharp barb catch in her hair.

"I'll get it," Emily said gently as she kneeled next to the blonde. Her fingers threaded through soft blonde hair before she eventually tugged Ali's hair free. By the time she was done, Alison was looking directly at her, blue eyes staring into her own. "All done."

On the other side of the fence they continued walking through the knee high grass. Emily thought if they didn't arrive soon Hanna or Alison would explode and she didn't really want to be around when that happened.

"Spence, for your birthday next year I'm busy," Hanna huffed as they walked in tandem towards the lush field where they would set up camp for the night. "If I wasn't sure camping wasn't my thing, I am now."

"It'll be fun when we get everything set up,' Spencer replied nonplussed as she continued to walk forwards towards the popular campsite that luckily seemed empty.

The sun had started to slip below the horizon, turning the sky a bright pink-purple that seeped into the twilight's deep blue. Out here in the open, Emily wanted to take Alison's hand and stop and watch the kaleidoscope effect with her. She was pretty sure, somewhere deep down, that Alison wanted to do that too.

"It's nice here," Emily murmured as they walked along behind the other three. The summer grass crunched quietly beneath their feet and every so often her hand brushed against Alison's sending jolts of excitement up her arm until it settled happily in the pit of her stomach.

"Nice?" Alison answered as her blue eyes glittered in the fading light. "I wouldn't say hiking here at this time is nice," she added as her arm swung idly by her side and before she could talk herself out of it she reached out for Emily's hand, flicking a quick glance to their friends in front of them, before she intertwined their fingers together.

Emily looked over to her right and smiled into the trees around them, her heart drummed happily in her chest before she finally looked down at their fingers. She had to blink to make sure it wasn't in her head.

"It's hard to walk… in this," Alison argued weakly as an excuse. One day she was going to work up the courage to tell Emily that she wanted to hold her hand because she was crazy about her. Today probably wouldn't be that day though.

"I know." Emily replied before she felt a small hand squeeze her own.

\- x -

The sweet smell of marshmallows still permeated the air around them. The empty weight of perfect golden silence lay over the little lake behind the campsite. Beyond the dying embers of their campfire the water's black surface reflected the full summers moon light like a bottomless mirror.

No water bug skated on it's surface; no frogs sang from it's banks and there had been several short intervals of crickets but at the moment it was silent. There was no night music.

For several long moments after Alison had turned over onto her side in their tent Emily remained perfectly still, lying on her back, trying to get comfortable on the hard grassy ground beneath her. She heard the faint snores from the tent next to theirs. By some happy twist of fate it was only her and Alison in this one.

Emily noiselessly pulled herself up onto her elbow. She watched Ali sleep, drinking in every inch of her. The blonde lay on her side, the blanket she'd brought was thin and unforgiving and Emily could make out the shape of her perfect body underneath. It stopped just above her hips and Emily had to use every self control method she could think of to stop herself from leaning out and touching Ali's bare shoulder with her finger.

Ali's breathing was soundless and fixed, and her face was completely relaxed. She was so perfectly still – so without the little twitches and small natural flutters of sleep – that Emily thought she might actually be awake.

"Em?" Ali whispered into the darkness.

Caught off guard by the blonde's voice, Emily swallowed hastily before she lay back down and hoped that Alison didn't know what she had been doing just seconds before. "Y… yeah?"

"Do you ever dream about me?"

Emily screwed her eyes shut and then blinked them open again. If she had to tell Alison every time she'd dreamt about her they would be there all night and tomorrow for good measure. "What?"

"Do you ever dream about me?" Alison repeatedly confidently but quietly.

"Um, I guess I have before," Emily replied softly. "But we are best friends so it's normal I guess. Right?"

Alison smirked to herself before she turned over onto her back. Even in the darkness she could see the silhouette of Emily next to her. "Right. But I mean have you ever really dreamt about _me._"

There was just enough lilt to the blonde's voice that Emily didn't know if Ali was being serious with her or getting ready to tear her to the ground with a few choice words. "Why would you ask me that Ali?"

Alison swallowed thickly as her stomach hummed with butterflies. "Just curious I guess. I dream about you you know?"

Through the darkness she could hear Emily breathing next to her. The sound was erratic but comforting. Right now, in this small-enclosed space, there was nothing she needed more than Emily. She pulled the duvet back before she scooted over, removing Emily's duvet as she went.

She swung her leg over Emily's waist and lowered herself down onto the brunette. The shorts she was wearing revealed more skin and she could see Emily straining into the darkness to look. Ali had caught her red handed.

"So I'm going to ask you again," Alison whispered. "Do you dream about me?"

"Yes."

Lowering her body onto Emily's, Ali's hands found the ground underneath them while Emily's head rested in between them. She leaned down and kissed the brunette's jaw. "Do you dream about kissing me, Em?"

"Yes," Emily stuttered, fully aware that their three best friends were only feet away.

Quickly realising that Emily needed a little push of encouragement, Alison gripped the brunette's hand and guided it to her back. Emily slid her hands under the fabric of the tank top Alison was wearing and began tracing her fingertips in absent patterns over the blonde's spine. She could feel herself shaking with excitement.

"Do you dream about this?" Alison asked quietly as she paused and leaned down to Emily's neck, exploring the familiar contours of the brunette's beautiful face. It wasn't the chiseled handsomeness of Noel Kahn or any other boy in their school. It was something better. Much better. Because it was real.

Emily closed her eyes and allowed the sensation of Ali's lips against her neck to take her into sensory overload. She'd dreamt about this, she'd dreamt of this more than she'd ever dreamt of anything else and the fact that it was actually happening snapped her into it.

Repositioning them, so she was on top, Emily slid a thigh between Ali's and lowered herself fully. She pressed her lips against the blonde's and allowed Alison to take control of their kiss, their tongues brushing at every opportunity as Ali's hands buried themselves in her hair.

She thrust her hips gently and felt the heat of Alison against her bare thigh. She lowered her lips onto Ali's pulse point, sucking but biting gently so she didn't leave a mark.

"Maybe it's not just me who dreams about this," Emily whispered into Ali's ear, her voice dripping with want, before she bit gently at the blonde's earlobe. She kissed Alison again fully on the mouth, it was messy and desperate as their tongues stroked harshly against each other.

This was right, Alison thought to herself, among the dizziness and the weight of Emily above her, this was all right. Something inside her had changed, something that would never be reversed when it came to Emily Fields. But she would have to dwell on that later because for now she was content to have Emily like this. Pressed so tightly against her that she didn't know where she ended and Emily began.

Before going any further, Emily pulled away and studied Alison as best as she could in the dark. She pressed their foreheads together as their breaths mingled heavily. They both gulped for air in the tent but the oxygen seemed to have disappeared, swallowed up by the heat that they were creating together.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Emily asked, as she glanced to her right where, a short distance away, their friends lay asleep. "We need to be really quiet."

Ali smiled at the worry she could hear etched in Emily's voice, she knew Emily was worried not for her but for Alison herself_. _

"Yes," Alison breathed, leaning her arms up to bring Emily's lips back down to her own. "I'm sure, Em."

Even if it's only this once Alison thought to herself, I'm very sure.

Emily slipped her hand underneath the waistband of the blonde's shorts and felt the slick heat that she, herself, had caused and she smiled into the blonde's neck as she sucked on Ali's pulse point, her teeth grazing the sensitive skin as Ali pushed her body up against Emily's own.

Sometimes dreams can come true.


	2. I'm Outta Time

_I can't remember who gave me this prompt but they wanted something along the lines of Ali getting out of prison but Emily being there when she got out and them kind of getting awkwardly close again like Emily wanting to take care of Ali. I'd started this a few days ago so here we go! Also Oasis – Im Outta Time is like this one shot's theme tune haha I had it on repeat while writing this._

* * *

It was twelve minutes past seven in the evening and yet Alison DiLaurentis continued to wait. She tapped her fingers on the strap of her purse and watched for car headlights. She tried to ignore the streaks of lightening in the distance, telling herself that the weather was headed in the opposite direction. It wasn't.

She hated thunderstorms. She could feel the spiky electricity in the air. She could almost taste it, metallic and coppery, like leaving the dentists with a new fresh filling. It poked at her frayed nerves like a large reminder that she shouldn't be standing out here alone. That maybe she should turn and go back into the building behind her and wait there.

Just then a pair of headlights magically appeared as if they were her reward for waiting patiently. She watched as the car came forward and she felt an unexpected flutter in her stomach. Anxiety. Nervous energy. Excitement because it wasn't the car of her father like she had expected. It was Emily's car.

She watched as the car drove up and behind her so it could turn properly, she could feel the glare of the headlights on her back as if they were Emily's soft but strong hands, hands that she ached to touch her again.

The thunder rumbled overhead and the number of black clouds increased, giving the early evening night an eerily black glow. Alison watched Emily's shadow, a jacket clad, black silhouette, get out of the car. The brunette had cut the engine but left the headlights on, making it difficult for Alison to see her against the powerful glare of the lights.

"Why are you here?" Alison asked coldly, she couldn't help it. It was mere reaction. Like a dog growling at a stranger.

"I...uh…I asked your Dad if I could come and pick you up instead... he took a bit of persuading but he eventually agreed. That's why I'm a bit late." Emily replied quietly as she approached where Alison was standing.

Alison scoffed. "Of course, I'm sure he needed a lot of persuading," she replied sarcastically, "that's how much I obviously mean to him that he had to palm me off to you."

"Alison, I'm sorry," Emily mumbled. She found herself at a loss as to what she could say to Alison. '_Ali I'm sorry we didn't believe you and then threw you in jail, please believe me?' _She didn't think that would quite work right now.

Alison narrowed her eyes at Emily who was now standing in front of her. "For which part exactly?" she bit back harshly. "For not believing me? For not letting me escape? For not saying thanks that I was actually trying to protect all of you from A?"

Emily's shoulders slouched as she reached where Alison was standing. "I'm sorry," she repeated softly. "We have all made mistakes, Alison. I'm sorry."

She could hear the pain in Emily's voice. She couldn't really get over being arrested when, for once, she had been telling the truth. When she had told them she was trying to change, she had meant it, especially when it came to Emily. She was a lot of things, she could painfully admit that to herself, but being A wasn't one of them.

Emily reached across the short distance between them and took Alison's hand in her own. The blonde's flesh was cold in comparison to her own, to her surprise Alison didn't pull away. She merely glanced down at their interlocked hands and then looked away to their right.

They stood in silence for several minutes, the prison as their backdrop setting, hand in hand.

"When we realised we had been set up again," Emily said as her voice cracked, "I wanted to trade places with you."

Alison, already standing with her face towards Emily, took a step forward so she was in Emily's immediate space. She wanted, no she needed Emily to listen to her and she knew that getting into Emily's face would do that. She needed to try and mend this before it wasn't able to be repaired.

"I know," Alison insisted. "I know you would have traded places with me, Em."

Emily looked up, startled at how close her and Alison actually were to each other. She found her attention wavering from Ali's sparkling blue eyes down to her lips. If Alison noticed she didn't act on it.

"I wouldn't have thought twice about it," Emily added as she felt Alison's hand gently squeeze her own.

"Sometimes we do things that we regret, trust me I know that more than most," Alison replied honestly as she took a brief but brutally honest walk down memory lane.

"What does that really matter though when I helped put a person I lo… know in jail?"

Alison sighed softly, breathing in the free air. "Em," she called tenderly, she'd noticed where Emily's eyes had lingered and felt the familiarity of Emily all around her, like a warm embrace that she didn't want to let go of her. "It's okay."

Emily looked up again, her brown eyes locked on blue ones, Alison was serious. There was no hint of anything in the blonde's eyes apart from affection and something she couldn't pinpoint but she knew it wasn't bad. There had always been affection, Emily knew that, but it looked deeper now. Sincere.

"Is it?" Emily questioned as the anticipation of kissing Alison made the breath hitch in her throat.

"Yes," came the blonde's soothing response.

"DiLaurentis!" A guard bawled from behind the fence, "you better get the hell out of here if you want to avoid this weather."

Emily resisted the urge to walk over towards the fence and punch the guard in the face. Instead she settled on an eye roll and a short wave towards him. "We are just leaving."

"Where?"

Emily shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm taking you home aren't I?"

\- x -

Alison peeled off her polka dot shirt without undoing any of the buttons, popping one before it even came off. It didn't matter. The shirt was a goner. Even the best laundry detergent couldn't take out the smell of prison that she seemed to think lingered on her clothes and skin.

She folded the shirt into a bundle and dropped it into the bathroom sink. They had been so close again. Too close. And yet it was impossible for her to get out of the way when it came to Emily Fields.

She yanked at her hair and it fell around her neck. Her fingers got stuck in blonde tangles, damp with sweat. Pepe, her dog, grabbed one of his discarded toys that lay beside him but rather than playing with it he dropped to his belly at Alison's feet and started whining, a low guttural moan that tugged at Ali's heart.

"It's okay, Pepe," she said it quietly, softly.

It was like he could smell the prison on her too. But the toy fell out of his mouth anyway. "It's okay, boy," she repeated as his fur became blurred in her vision. She reached her hand down and petted him as he nuzzled his face into her hand.

She wanted to hug him but it seemed utterly ridiculous. Most people had family or friends around them when they were released from the cage that they were wrongly put in.

She had the dog and her Dad who didn't really know what to do or say to her. Maybe she had Emily too, she didn't really know. She had initially guessed that the brunette had offered to pick her up out of sheer guilt but after the moment they had shared she didn't really know anymore.

"I'm okay," she reassured Pepe, as she dared to take a good true look at herself in the mirror to see if what she said was even true. It wasn't so bad, she argued with herself in her head, she'd been through worse. She could handle being back out in the open.

Her tangled, blonde hair reached way past her shoulders. She needed to get it trimmed. What a thing to think about right now she thought to herself. Her eyes were bloodshot. She hadn't been able to sleep during the night for weeks, waking every hour on the hour as if some internal alarm clock in her body triggered it. The sleep deprivation was always going to catch up with her at some point.

She took a long, hot shower, gently washing herself. No scrubbing, although that had been her first inclination, to scrub herself until her skin was red raw. She couldn't avoid watching the water run down the drain in case she could see the painful memories of her prison stint disappear.

She left her hair damp and put on a clean, loose fitting pair of shorts and then she dug around in the back of the closet for a t-shirt that would be suitable to wear to bed. After bagging her clothes – at least everything she had been wearing today – and throwing them in the garbage can, Alison retreated back to her bedroom with a glass of water. Pepe followed her closely.

The house landline phone rang and she jumped, startled enough to spill the glass of water that she had been holding in her hand. Okay, so being locked up and hearing immediate loud noses had unnerved her more than she was willing to admit.

She grabbed for the phone that sat on her bedside table and checked the number. It was unknown so she placed it back on the holder and then she pulled her knees up to her chest and began to cry.

Her eyes grew blurry and she hugged her knees tighter to her chest. She tried not to, she did, but the tears continued to seep down her cheek. Burying her head in her hands, more salty droplets fell freely from her eyes.

She looked weak, the one thing she did not want to look. But even worse for her was the fact that she felt weak, she felt powerless and all she wanted to do was cry until there were no more tears left.

After a few minutes there was a gentle tap on her door and the shadow took form as the door pushed open. She wiped hastily at her eyes with her thumbs before she got a good look at the person.

"You didn't have to come here tonight."

\- x -

Although Emily had heard and seen Alison cry before it was nothing like this. She'd heard the small howl from the top of the stairs, like an animal caught in a trap. And she'd followed the disturbing wailing sound down to Alison's bedroom door.

When she had opened the door she was shocked to see Alison sitting on her bed, knees tucked into her chest, her face completely covered by her hands, her fingers nearly stretched from ear to ear. It looked, to Emily, like the blonde was trying to disappear.

"Your Dad let me in," was all she could say as she walked towards Ali's bed. She kneeled in front of the blonde and allowed her to cry. "He said he's gone to bed."

Alison simply nodded before she wiped the tears on the back of her hand.

"Ali… look at me," Emily prodded delicately.

When Ali's eyes lifted to look into Emily's own, Emily could feel the dull ache bloom in her stomach, like a flower unfurling it's petals. It was the kind of gut twisting ache that was painful enough for you to need more oxygen, to want more oxygen, to take in such a large breath that it felt like your lungs were about to explode with the pressure.

She leaned across and placed her hands on both of Ali's arms. Strong enough that Ali would feel the tight grip but not tight enough that it would leave any kind of mark. "We will all get through this."

"We? I only see you here," Alison replied stiffly as she fought the need to grab Emily and drag her onto the bed with her. Emily pulled back slightly to look directly at the blonde.

"We," Emily said again emphasising the word, "we will get past this."

Alison took a breath, bringing her hand up to Emily's hair where she threaded her fingers through soft dark tresses before she placed her palm onto Emily's cheek. She looked at Emily and then really looked at her with every bit of love and affection she could muster. She felt emotionally naked and, for once in her life, she was okay with that.

"I'm sorry," Emily began but she was cut off when Alison brought her face forward and pressed their lips together. It wasn't messy or desperate, it was gentle and needed. Emily's lips always had moved effortlessly against her own.

As she pulled her lips away from Emily's, Alison rested her forehead against the brunette's and screwed her eyes shut. She felt Emily's hands move around to the small of her back where her t-shirt didn't quite meet her shorts. Emily's fingertips traced circles causing goose bumps but at the same time it kept them as close as they could possibly be.

"We need to talk about it this time," Emily mumbled and she felt Alison nod her head. "But tomorrow. You need to sleep."

"Stay," Alison said almost desperately. "I don't want to be alone tonight."

Emily kissed Alison's temple before she looked back down at the broken shell of the person she was completely in love with. The worst part for Emily was that she'd had a helping hand in shattering that person. She promised herself there and then that it would never happen again.

"Of course I'll stay," Emily answered warmly. "Do you want to go to the bathroom and tidy up first?"

"Yeah," Alison said, before she swung her legs off the bed and sauntered into the bathroom, careful to keep the door open so Emily was still close by.

By the time she was finished and back in her bedroom, Emily had shut the overhead light off and now the room was just bathed in the soft yellow glow of her bedside lamp. The pink duvet on her bed was pulled back and Emily lay out on the right hand side of it.

Alison crawled into bed so she was on her back and able to see Emily out the corner of her eye. She watched and felt as Emily pulled the duvet up and around them.

She didn't know if it was impulse, the situation or a mixture of both but she scooted clumsily across the bed until her head was resting on Emily's chest. She felt a strong arm wrap around her shoulder.

"I thought I was out of time you know," Emily commented as Ali's arm found it's way across her stomach.

"No," Alison murmured in response.

"We still have a lot to talk about and…I am so sorry, Ali," Emily said as she swallowed the tears that had welled in her throat.

"I know, Em."

She felt Emily shift underneath her. "Get some sleep, Ali."

She closed her eyes and let her tired brain toss their kiss and words back and forth, from right to left. She didn't know if what they had done was right, she didn't know if they were a bomb waiting to be thrown in the air to explode, she simply didn't know.

But what Alison did know was that the warm presence underneath her was Emily and she knew that when it came to her, the brunette would never be out of time. She pressed herself tighter against Emily and allowed herself to fall into the serene darkness of sleep.


	3. I Just Know

_Prompt idea: Em babysits and Ali is with her bc has to stay the whole night and sleep there. Ali watches the whole time how cute Em handles the whole baby thing and Ali really wants to play w the baby too but she's afraid she'll do something wrong so she just pretends she doesn't like kids infront of Em. And when Em goes to the toilet and the baby starts to cry Ali hesitates but then picks her up and starts to try to make her laugh and things like that and Em secretly watches them_

_I decided to take a little bit of a creative liberty with this prompt but I hope that's okay!_

* * *

"Wait, we are what?" Alison asks incredulously as she stands in Emily's doorway with her overnight bag slung lazily over her shoulder.

Emily shifts uncomfortably on the balls of her feet before she gives Alison a reassuring half smile and she's not remotely surprised at the blonde's reaction, in fact this is mild to what she had initially been expecting.

"We are babysitting. Together. My aunt and uncle paid us an unexpected visit and my parents have taken them out for the night to catch up. So we have my four month old cousin to occupy."

She watches as the adorable little crease in Ali's forehead appears, the blonde's eyebrows knitting hazardously close together and she bites down gently on her lip to stop the soft laugh that's about to spill out of her mouth because it's not often that she gets to see her girlfriend like this. Perplexed and seemingly lost for words.

"No, see I heard that part," Alison replies wearily, "I just didn't think you were being serious with me."

"It's okay Ali," Emily soothes as she reaches out and takes one of the blonde's hands in her own, skimming her thumb over the smooth skin that she's come to know so well. "She's a baby, not a bomb and we can handle her for one night. Plus she's asleep right now and she'll probably stay like that for most of the night."

Alison can feel her resolve weakening, like the sun leaching all the colour from the sky behind her, because she knows that if she wants to spend the night with Emily, and she really does, then the babysitting is part of that whether she wants it to be or not.

"Fine," she huffs, "but a bomb, a baby. Might as well be the same thing when it comes to me."

Emily smiles and shakes her head before she leans down and places a gentle kiss on the blonde's lips and she can feel some of Ali's apprehension seep into her mouth.

"We will be fine, Ali," she reassures as she steps to the side and allows the blonde into her house. "We will be fine."

\- x -

"I think that went pretty well, don't you Lily?" Emily asks as she gently bounces the four month old on her knee after successfully feeding and burping her without too many mishaps. "Are you sure you don't want to try, Ali?" Emily offers happily, "look at her she's a little star," the brunette coos as she runs her fingers through Lily's dark hair.

Alison glances up from the magazine that she is currently reading and flicks the page over with her thumb before she answers. "Am I sure that I don't want to be puked over? Yeah, I'm pretty sure, Em," she replies with a half hearted laugh.

She draws her attention back down towards the magazine and in some sort of weird twist of fate a story about a mother and daughter stares back at her. She swallows and hopes that Emily hasn't seen through her little white lie because it's been a long, long time since she's lied to the brunette and she plans on keeping it that way, but there is a part of her that does actually want to hold and play with Lily, she just doesn't know how to.

And it's a painful reminder that her life hasn't exactly been ideal, she hasn't had the chance to be maternal and until now she had resigned herself to the fact that maybe she never would be. Alison looks over and there's a little flutter in the middle of her chest because while Emily seems to be such a natural, she can't even get the courage to admit that she wants to hold the baby.

She rolls her eyes, more at herself than anyone else, and looks back down at the magazine before Lily's giggles make her look up again. She smiles to herself as she watches Emily playfully blowing raspberries on Lily's hands and she ends up folding the magazine over to watch Emily and Lily giggling towards each other.

"What?" Emily questions when she catches blue eyes staring intently in her direction.

Alison shakes her head gently, "Nothing, you are just so good with her, Em."

\- x -

"Where are you going?" Alison worries as Emily untangles herself from around the blonde's body.

Emily rolls her shoulder, her right arm asleep where Alison has been laying contently. "I need to go change and put a few things upstairs."

Alison looks at her as if she's grown an extra head or limb. "Ali," Emily speaks softly, "I won't be long, I will literally be ten minutes," she adds as she grabs the second baby monitor and Ali's bag before turning towards the staircase. "You'll be fine without me for a few minutes I have faith in you."

When she hears Emily's feet padding upstairs, Alison makes her way over towards the crib and she watches as Lily lays on her back, her chest rhythmically rising and falling every few seconds. And there's a part of Alison that wants to reach out and touch her but she doesn't because the last thing she needs is Lily to wake up and cry because she thinks she would probably faint right there and then in the middle of Emily's living room.

But, for some reason, she risks it anyway and reaches her hand inside the crib and runs her finger lightly down Lily's rosy cheek but it's then that the four month old decides to open her eyes, seemingly startled at the sudden intrusion in her nap. "No, no it's okay, shh," Alison hushes gently as she looks behind her towards the stairs for Emily. "Don't cry, please don't cry."

Alison raises her eyebrows when no immediate cry comes. Instead there's a gummy smile and small arms that are reached into the air in her direction. "You want me to lift you?" Alison asks quietly and then she shakes her head at herself for asking a four month old a question when she knows no answer will come.

"Okay, here we go," she whispers as she cautiously reaches inside the crib and lifts Lily so the baby's head is resting on her shoulder, and she has a few seconds of mild panic when she gets her arms in a bit of a tangle but Lily remains oblivious, preferring to wrap her small fingers around Ali's hair, pulling gently.

She sits back carefully on the couch before sitting Lily on her thighs as the four month old lets out a saliva filled gurgle and Ali's not sure if she finds it incredibly gross or incredibly adorable. She settles on the adorable option because it's Emily's baby cousin.

"I can do this," she whispers to herself, "I can do this." She thinks back a few hours when Emily was bouncing Lily on her knee and she begins to copy it by gently moving her knee up and down against the floor, being rewarded with another gummy smile. "I can do this," she then comments confidently with a smile of her own.

\- x -

"Emily was right, you are a little star."

Emily pulls her bed t-shirt over her head and tilts her head to the side when she hears Ali's voice filtering out the baby monitor. Then she hears a giggle and her head tilts even more.

"We are lucky to have Emily. We need more people like Emily, do you know that Lily?"

Alison's voice lowers and Emily's ears strain to hear over the static noise that's coming out of the monitor. She grins to herself when she realises that Alison is probably holding Lily close to talk to her.

"I didn't used to be a very good person but somehow Em gave me another chance. A chance at all this kind of thing. I can actually be maternal, who knew?"

Emily's heart is beating in her ears as she moves from her chest of drawers towards the bed, sitting down and picking up the monitor to hold at her ear so she can listen properly.

"Maybe one day…"

There's a pause and Emily wonders what is about to spill out of Alison's beautiful mouth, butterflies knotting in her stomach as her heart bangs like a bass drum in her chest and then she hears Ali clear her throat.

"Maybe one day it'll be us. Me and Em and a little star like you."

Emily puts the monitor down when she hears Lily giggle and she finds herself grinning almost manically to herself because she knows this is the first time that Alison has ever acknowledged that kind of future with her. Their future plans conversation usually encompasses what they will have for dinner or what movie they will see but this is the real future Emily wants.

She sorts herself out, pulling her t-shirt straight before she heads back downstairs, the floor creaking noisily underneath her and she knows it gives Alison ample warning for her to put Lily back in the crib if she wishes but she doesn't because when she enters the livingroom Alison is bouncing Lily on her thigh much to the baby's delight.

"And you said I was good with her," Emily comments as she slouches on the couch beside Alison and presses a kiss onto the blonde's temple.

Alison shrugs it off, apparently nonplussed but Emily can tell that Alison is beaming inside and she's proven right when the blonde's lips spread into a happy grin.

"I'm okay," Alison offers as a compromise. "I don't want to jinx it."

Emily nods slowly before she tucks a stray strand of golden hair behind Ali's ear and leans in closer so the blonde can feel her breath against the sensitive skin. "By the way, Ali, I want a little star like her with you too."

She grins when Alison's head whips around in her direction. "How did you… how…"

And it's almost bordering on cruel to let Alison continue her rambling, so Emily places her hand on the blonde's now bright glowing cheek and brings Alison's lips to her own, claiming them in a searing kiss.

"I just know, Ali," she tells the blonde with a comforting smile.

"I'm glad you do," Alison admits as she smiles broadly at Emily before she goes back to concentrating on bouncing Lily on her thigh.


	4. Travelin' Soldier

_Since Emison in the show is just a disaster (Aye Marlene I'm looking at you right now) I haven't really had the inclination to write anything for them at all. However I wanted to write this Emison airport prompt that I was given since I had a little burst of inspiration. I actually debated about making this a longer term story however a one shot will do for now depending on response! (Emily in the army jacket/gun from last ep gave me this little idea)._

* * *

Pennsylvania hadn't had much of a winter. Every promised storm had veered far to the west, dumping Pennsylvania's fair share of snow on states that neither wanted nor deserved it. Today was going to change all that, and the whole state was jumpy in anticipation.

The snow started at eleven in the morning, falling with a gentle vengeance, as if to say sorry for it's late arrival. Within ninety minutes there wasn't a patch of grass visible, the streets surfaces were slick with new snow hiding the black ice beneath it. The average freeway speed had dropped to just seven miles per hour and flights were cancelled indefinitely.

Emily Fields checked the Krispy Kreme counter. A long line of apparent zombies waited patiently for their afternoon dose of energy, like drug addicts getting one more shot before their flight, which was now cancelled at least until noon tomorrow. To her right a woman was handing out reading material at the entrance of a bookstore.

She watched as a young boy in a baseball cap looked in her direction and gave her a short childish salute. She nodded politely, smiling at the boy and reciprocated before she pulled the collar of her uniform closer to her neck and walked in the shortest direction towards the bathroom, slinging her heavy backpack over her shoulder.

\- x -

By six in the evening the airport bar was busy. Emily noticed that everyone looked as miserable as she did. Some were drinking because there was nothing left to do in the airport and others were drinking with a needy enthusiasm that Emily recognised. They were the people, she decided, who were not going to be getting home to their family and children anytime soon.

She hated airports. She hated watching the lingering hugs and the tearful goodbyes. She hated being at airports in her uniform and recognising the stares of pity or admiration that people threw her way.

So, instead of watching everybody else being miserable, Emily stared at the two cubes of ice in her glass that cracked and hissed against the amber liquid like they were playing a secret tune that only she knew. She brought the over priced liquor to her lips and sipped steadily before she felt the familiar burn in her throat.

"No, I told you that," a blonde huffed as she lifted her purse onto the bar with a heavy sigh. Emily lifted her eyes slightly to where the voice was coming from. "Everything is cancelled, I have no idea when I will be on the next flight out. There is nothing I can do."

It was a small, insufficient victory but Emily was glad that other people were stranded for as long as she was. She finished her drink and slid it away from her as she looked fully at the blonde who was standing to her right. Without her noticing it, the barman poured her another glass and slid it back towards Emily.

"Wow, you're quick," Emily said with a nod.

"This one's paid for, a token of my thanks for what you do."

Emily nodded her thanks at the barman and smiled as nicely as she could before her attention returned back onto the blonde. It was like once Emily had looked at the woman she couldn't pull her eyes away and she watched with fascination as the woman ordered her own drink and settled into her own bar stool.

"What do you think I'm doing?" the blonde continued into the phone that she was holding at her ear. "I'm drinking. There's nothing else for it. Yes… I will be careful don't worry, Cece."

The blonde caught Emily's eye and Emily focused her attention back onto her own drink, her cheeks glowing a pale shade of red at being caught staring. She could have gone back home and waited for her flight, but she'd said goodbye to her parents and she couldn't bear to watch the expression on her Mom's face again.

It was a heavy, shapeless burden to carry on her young shoulders. To follow her father into the military was one thing for her Mom to get her head around but to be sent to the other side of the world to fight in a war that Emily hadn't caused was a whole other thing.

No, Emily reminded herself, this was better for everyone involved. She had done the right thing by staying at the airport alone. And, if she really stretched the argument to fit, technically she wasn't all alone - there were hundreds of other people in the airport exactly like her. Stuck.

When Emily was eventually broken from her musings, the blonde had ordered another drink and she had stopped speaking on the phone. She was gorgeous, Emily thought, it was the kind of Hollywood beauty that everyone noticed immediately.

The blonde had blue eyes that shimmered like glitter, her hair was wavy and reached half way down her back, when she smiled there was a set of perfect white teeth and it took Emily a few seconds to realise that the woman was actually smiling in her direction.

"Do you always stare at strangers like that?" the blonde woman asked Emily with just enough lilt to her voice that Emily knew she was being sarcastic. "Or do you get taught that in soldier training?"

"Yeah," Emily replied, "it's the first lesson we are taught."

"See, now you're just being a smart ass," the blonde raised her eyebrows gamely in Emily's direction as she took another sip of drink. "Is that all you get taught?"

"No," Emily said as she slid across four stools and closed the gap between them. "We get taught how to wash correctly and do a few sit ups too. Can I get you another?"

The blonde looked at her with a beaming smile. "A smart ass with manners? Okay, you can buy me a drink then. How could I resist?"

Emily caught the attention of the barman and motioned with her hand to her and the blonde stranger sitting next to her. Emily was smiling to herself, pleased that the gorgeous blonde had both, agreed to have a drink with her and hadn't asked any serious questions about her uniform.

"I'm Alison DiLaurentis," the blonde said as she offered her hand to Emily. "And you are…what?"

"Emily Fields."

The blonde laughed lightly and Emily's stomach swirled. "No," the woman now known as Alison said, "I mean like Colonel, Lieutenant? But I guess knowing your first name helps too."

"Oh," Emily smiled unabashed. "Sergeant."

Alison shook Emily's hand, noticing that the brunette's hand felt soft and warm in her own. She was intrigued. In fact she was down right curious that a woman who looked like Emily was seemingly a hardened soldier. Emily seemed confident but not arrogant, powerful yet sophisticated, beautiful yet oblivious to it. Alison was mesmerised.

"I'm on the next drink then," Alison commented as the barman sat their glasses in front of them.

Emily nodded. "Fine, you owe me after your sarcastic comment about me being a smart ass anyway. How long are you stuck here for?"

Alison shrugged. "How long is a piece of string? I suppose until tomorrow morning at the earliest, hopefully tomorrow night at the latest. Depends on the snow. Where are you heading?"

"Texas. Following in my Dad's footsteps," Emily replied as she motioned her hand towards her uniform. "How about you?"

"New York. I'm not following in my father's footsteps though, I write. It's only a fifty minute flight and now I'm wishing I had just driven."

Emily swallowed the rest of her drink in one go and loosened the first two buttons her uniform, revealing a plain white t-shirt underneath. "I've had enough, if I drink anymore I will end up drunk."

Alison quirked her eyebrow playfully. "A drunk solider? I quite like the sound of that."

They couldn't help smiling, but whereas Alison's smile was a hesitant rich, complicated expression that trembled across her face like sunlight chasing shadows, Emily's smile was slow, warm, plain but kind.

"Do you want to grab a burger or something then?" Alison asked as she pointed towards a fast food restaurant that sat opposite the bar. "We have all night together after all."

\- x -

"You wrote all over the walls?!" Emily chuckled as she reached forward towards the plate of fries that sat in the middle of their table.

"Yep," Alison confirmed with a wide smile. "My Mom always says that's how she knew I would be a writer."

"I can see why she thought that," Emily conceded as she chewed. "Sounds like you had a vivid imagination."

Alison shrugged feebly. "I guess. I was pretty lonely growing up, I wasn't exactly the nicest person at high school and when I got to a certain age I realised that I didn't have any real friends."

"Let me guess. You were the Queen Bee?" Emily smirked.

"You know it," Alison forfeited with a sad smile as she reached for another fry. "Thank God I grew out of that."

She had reached for another fry just as Emily did, their fingers brushing gently together. Nothing major, just simple human contact. Alison watched the stillness of Emily's face, there were no frown lines but the slight curve of the brunette's dimples peeked out against her cheeks. Alison was beginning to hope her plane was cancelled for good.

"Have you ever shot anyone?" Alison queried as she looked Emily straight in the eye. Alison could see the brunette's jaw working and her teeth grinding. Her dark brown eyes were hard.

"I have," Emily confirmed.

"Are they dead?"

"I would imagine so," Emily replied with a heavy sigh as she broke eye contact. "That's war for you."

She wasn't ashamed of her military background. She wasn't ashamed that she had killed in order to survive. But Emily found herself reluctant to look back in Alison's direction.

"You can look at me, Emily," Alison insisted. "You don't have to be afraid, I'm not judging you or what you have done."

Emily tilted her head in the blonde's direction. "It's my job, just like writing is your job. It's your turn though, tell me something personal about you."

She regarded Emily for a second, wondering what trivial thing she could tell this woman that she had only met mere hours ago. Emily cocked her eyebrow in Alison's direction, prompting her to answer.

The words tumbled out of Alison's mouth before she could even process what she was saying. "I don't have a place in the world. You know how everyone has a person that makes them feel home or a place? I don't have that. Writing is like my mini escape."

Surprised at the extremely personal answer, Emily nodded her appreciation. "I understand the feeling of being lost – " but before she could continue Alison cut her off again.

"It's not that. I've never really understood the concept of being lost actually," Alison replied honestly.

Being lost was one of those things that you learned in childhood, a sense of time and place that only had meaning if you really belonged somewhere, if you were expected even. No one had ever really expected Alison to be anywhere, and therefore she had never been lost.

"My parents supported me financially and helped me with my studies but they never really gave me a place, a real home, you know what I mean?"

"Home is a funny word," Emily admitted. "It's different for everyone and you've eaten all my fries by the way."

"I tell you something like that and you notice that your fries are gone?" Alison asked and, despite her personal admission, she felt herself begin to smile.

Emily beamed back at her. "Yeah," the brunette stated, "we get taught to always protect our fries, that's lesson number two."

\- x -

For the first time that Emily could ever remember, the airport, in general, was quiet. People were huddled on seats as they slept; others had made make shift beds on the floor out of coats and other clothing items. The few people that were awake were either reading or had their earphones in and their eyes closed.

Her and Alison sat at the back corner of the lounge on a bench seat next to the large window. The plane outside was still covered in some snow but Emily noticed that the sky was beginning to empty. Stars were beginning to sparkle against the vast ocean blue.

Somewhere along the line, as they had been talking about their lives, Emily had found her arm around Alison's shoulders. Then ten minutes later, the blonde had readjusted her body so that her legs stretched out across the bench and her body was pressed against Emily's chest.

Alison turned around as much as she could so she could see Emily out of the corner of her eye. "I've known you for like ten hours and I feel like I know you better than half the people who are in my life every other day."

Emily understood. It was ridiculous really and she knew that as soon as she stepped on her plane and took her seat next to the window that everything would be stripped away. These ten hours and what they had remaining together would disappear in the hustle and bustle of her real life.

"I feel the same," Emily said.

"Probably because you will never see me again," Alison said and Emily felt the blonde shrug against her chest before Alison swung her legs around so she was back in a sitting position next to her. "I can be forgotten about."

"That's not true," Emily countered quickly.

"What's this?" Alison asked, directing the conversation in another direction as she reached down towards Emily's backpack, her fingers brushing against a small metal badge pin.

Emily looked at the little red and black pin before her eyes flickered back up towards Alison. "It was my Dad's and then his Dad's before that."

"It's in your genes then?" Alison suggested.

"Yes, Alison," Emily said softly, "it's in my genes."

"You can call me, Ali."

Emily smiled softly before she bumped her shoulder into the gorgeous blonde. "You can call me Em then. It's only fair."

\- x -

"So," Alison said as she rubbed the last of the sleep out of her eyes and looked up at the screen, "we have two hours until you need to get on your plane and four hours until I get on mine."

She wasn't oblivious to how they must have appeared to other passengers. Emily's arm was across the back of the bench while Alison was leaning against the brunette's chest, the army jacket thrown haphazardly over them. She moved and stretched, and Emily lifted the jacket off of them.

"Yeah," Emily pondered, "only two more hours together."

They looked at each other, really looked and then she found Alison smiling at her. "You should kiss me now before we have to go to your gate. I know you want to. You have since I told you about me not having a place."

Emily felt something rippling inside her, pulling her in different directions, the same way a firework spreads when it explodes. "Hmm…what if I don't want to?"

"You're lying, Em," Alison argued. She looked at Emily's face, trying to read her expression, and realised what a fool's errand that was. Emily didn't seem to give emotions away for free.

"I am lying," Emily replied with a smile, "but you are wrong on something. I've wanted to kiss you since we met in the bar."

Alison lifted her head up enough so that she could look back into Emily's eyes and the brunette brushed her lips against Alison's a second later. Alison's eyes fell shut when she felt Emily lean into the kiss and brunette's hands grip on her waist tightened.

Emily relaxed into Ali's body, her fingers gently gripped the soft fabric of the blonde's top and despite everything, she could smell the fresh citrus of Alison's shampoo. As the blonde's tongue moved languidly against her own, Emily knew that this moment would stay with her for as long as time would allow it.

"For the first time in my life," Alison mumbled against soft lips, "I'm glad my plane was delayed or cancelled or whatever. But I'm also annoyed that we haven't been doing this since the bar."

Emily laughed as reached for Alison's hands, linking their fingers together. "Me too, Ali."

\- x -

"Well, be safe, like really safe," Alison offered quietly as Emily lifted her backpack back over her shoulder. "And are you really sure you can't stay?" she repeated the question that she had asked twenty minutes ago.

Emily shook her head. "I can't stay, Ali. This, though, has been the best cancellation flight that I have ever had."

Alison stood on her tiptoes and folded the collar of Emily's uniform down back onto the brunette's collarbone before she let her hands trail back over the soldier's strong shoulders.

Emily let her fingers run through the other woman's blonde hair. It was simple yet beautiful and she brought Alison closer to her so that she could kiss the blonde on the temple. "I wish I could stay."

"I think you should stay," Alison breathed against Emily's cheek. She could feel her heart thumping against her ribs and Alison realised that despite the small amount of time that had passed in the bigger picture, Emily had changed her life in the most unexpected way.

Emily swallowed bitterly but the lump that was bobbing around in her throat refused to budge. Her voice cracked and her eyes found Ali's. "I can't."

The announcement from the loudspeaker broke them apart and Emily looked up at it, cursing her own bad luck that she had met Alison when she was leaving for the other side of the world.

"I really have to go."

"I know," Ali replied sullenly, "you should call me when you get back though. Whenever that will be."

"I will," Emily promised.

Alison's bright blue eyes trailed up slowly. "I don't just want to be the airport girl, Em."

Emily nearly couldn't hear her; Ali's voice was quiet and delicate. Movement around them reminded Emily that they weren't alone in their own little bubble. The pain in her chest only grew as the realisation set in.

"You'll never just be the airport girl, Ali."

"You really have to leave don't you?" Alison sensed the change in Emily's body language but she was reluctant to take a step back, to let Emily free of her arms. She wasn't ready for that. Not after last night, not after everything they had learned about each other.

Emily's voice was thick yet quiet. "I do."

Alison's breath caught in her throat as she finally stepped away. "Well, we will always have last night."

"And the airport," Emily smiled. "And the phone call that I promise will happen."

"You better be safe, Emily," Alison stated sternly.

"I will."

Emily turned towards the tunnel to her plane and then kissed Alison softly on the cheek and lips again before she began to walk. She walked half way before she turned around to find Alison still standing in the same spot.

It was brutal. The most brutal part for Emily was not knowing if she would ever see the blonde again. But this was her life. This was how she had chosen to live her life. This career was her choice.

Alison's arms hugged her body as she watched Emily walk further down the tunnel. The ache of letting Emily walk away, the desolation of it crashed over her as Emily reached the junction at the tunnel. The brunette turned around and their eyes met. Loneliness and the unknown mirrored in each of them.

And then Emily gave her an awkward wave before she disappeared fully out of view.

She resisted the urge to run down the tunnel like a crazy person and physically stop Emily from getting on the plane. She just looked on as Emily walked out of her life until the next time that they would find each other, or hear each other, or touch each other, or kiss each other.

Alison just didn't know when the next time was going to be or if there would ever be a next time really. And when she eventually took a seat back next to the window, she watched Emily's plane soar into the air towards Texas until she couldn't see it anymore. Her eyes burned like she wanted to cry and she found a few tears at the surface that were quickly blinked away.

For the first time in Alison DiLaurentis' life she understood the concept of being lost.


	5. Travelin' Soldier (Not An Update)

_For everyone who wanted my last prompt continued into a proper story well you're in luck I've decided to do that. It feels good to be back in an Emison writing mood again. The 'Travelin' Solider' story can be found on my author's page on here so please follow/fave and if you have left a review on the prompt then please do so on the proper story so I can get a little kick start it - would be much appreciated. Thank you guys for making me want to write Emison again!  
_


End file.
